


a little bit of tender mercy

by paaxanthus



Category: Hunt Down The Freeman (Video Game)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Emotional Baggage, Gen, Implied Relationships, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Non-Sexual Intimacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26293927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paaxanthus/pseuds/paaxanthus
Summary: He cared for Mitch. The exact words were unspoken, but he cared. And despite the cold exterior Mitch maintained, Nick knew he cared back.Or, Nick makes sure that Mitch doesn't keel over on them via infection from improperly tended injuries.
Relationships: Mitchell Shephard/Adam (Hunt Down The Freeman) (implied), Mitchell Shephard/Nick (Hunt Down The Freeman)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	a little bit of tender mercy

Mitch was reckless. Nick knew this, Adam knew this, their entire crew knew it. So Nick would be lying to himself if he said he was surprised when Mitch and Adam came back from scavenging, Mitch poorly hiding even more poorly bandaged injuries. The two had dumped the supplies, and had gone their separate ways. Damn their inability to communicate with each other. Half of the ship knew damn well what was going on between them, yet they still avoided it. But he knew them both, and knew that was easier said than done.

Mitch was reckless, and he knew he’d have to confront that the moment he heard a knock at his door and a distinctively Nick-like ‘ _Mitchell?_ ’ from the other side. Great. He hadn’t hid his injuries well enough, and now Nick was _worried_ about him. He just had to be obvious about it, didn’t he? Should’ve been more subtle, should’ve taken more care, should’ve been more careful. He forcibly dragged himself from that train of thought, forced himself through the Herculean task of composing himself, cleared his throat.

“Come in,” he spoke up. The doorknob twisted. Nick fit himself through the partially opened door, shutting it behind him.  
“You’re hurt.” Nick stated it like it was some fundamental law of reality. The sky is blue, water is wet, Mitchell Shephard is a _reckless dumbass_ who gets himself _hurt_ on missions. Mitch clenched his jaw at that last thought.

“It’s fine. I can take care of it,” Mitch hissed. He was tense, he knew it. Letting people know you were hurt meant exposing the fact that you’re vulnerable meant putting yourself in danger of more hurt. Nick _wouldn’t_ , he _knew_ that. It didn’t stop the sinking anxiety in his chest from constricting itself around his heart and lungs. Nick gave him a look, and Mitch knew he didn’t believe him.

“Let me help. Please.” Mitch sighed in resignation, peeling off the ratty old sweatshirt he had thrown on just prior to collapsing on his bed. He tried not to concern himself with the possibility of it becoming blood-stained.

Nick’s eyes traced over Mitch’s torso, scanning scars both old and new. A cursory look convinced him nothing would need to be stitched. He was out of practice anyway. 

He traced the gentle curve of muscle, cleaning the wounds, delicately applying disinfectant. Mitch winced. Despite how careful Nick was, there wasn’t much he could do about the way disinfectant stung against fresh wounds. 

“You really should be more careful out there,” Nick spoke, breaking the silence that had settled around them. “One of these days, there might be something that none of us can patch up.”

He cared for Mitch. The exact words were unspoken, but he cared. And despite the cold exterior Mitch maintained, Nick knew he cared back.

Nick fussed over the injuries. Mitch was reckless. Nick wouldn’t let him make excuses anymore.

Mitch felt, in moments like these, that Nick was looking at him as if he were breakable. Like he was made of glass, and ignorance of the label that read ‘ _fragile_ ’ in big, bold letters on his box would leave him shattered. He wasn’t sure he liked that. But Nick _showing_ that he cared, giving him kindness and tenderness he had never received? He had grown to love it.

He couldn’t help it, staring at Nick as if he would be gone if he looked away. As if Nick was some great work of art to behold. Like he _loved_ him.

Maybe he did.

It took him a moment to realize that Nick was calling his name. Asking if he was okay. He nodded. He was too exhausted to fully process anything beyond that. It must’ve been obvious. Nick left the room. As quietly as he had entered, he was gone.

Mitch was left laying there, alone in the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> *reuses a prompt i used for an earlier writing for this* there's two cakes and i baked them both biiiiiitch!!  
> canon is small brain and my brain is fucking huge. let mitch have soft moments...  
> shoutout to phoenix for encouraging me to write this and shoutout to all my whores in the hdtf server xoxo  
> title is from absolute lithops effect by the mountain goats


End file.
